Flow among music teachers and their students: The crossover of peak experiences

This study among 178 music teachers and 605 students from 16 different music schools examined the peak experience of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). On the basis of the literature, it is hypothesized that job resources, including autonomy, performance feedback, social support, and supervisory coaching have a positive influence on the balance between teachers’ challenges and skills, which, in turn, contributes to their experience of flow (absorption, work enjoyment, and intrinsic work motivation). In addition, using emotional contagion theory, it is hypothesized that flow may crossover from teachers to their students. The results of structural equation modeling analyses offer support for both hypotheses. These findings are discussed in light of theories about crossover and emotional contagion.     

The Effects of Phenytoin on the Performance of Rats in a Delayed Match-to-Place Task

We have shown previously that phenytoin impairs learning in rats in several different behavioral paradigms (Churchill et al., 1998, 2003; Banks et al., 1999). The present study has examined this drug's effects on performance in a delayed match-to-place water maze paradigm developed by Steele and Morris (1999). We find that phenytoin retards performance, but only when the inter-trial interval (ITI) is short (i.e., 15-sec). With longer ITIs (i.e., 20-min, 2-hr), the performance of the phenytoin-treated rats was quite comparable to the controls. We suggest that this pattern of results stems from a disruption of spatial working memory, perhaps due to the effects of the drug on hippocampal function (cf., Churchill et al., 1998, 2003). This disruption is, however, not so profound that consolidation is prevented.     

Reasoning about conjunctive probabilistic concepts in childhood.

While adults are known to exhibit biases when making conjunctive probability judgments, little is known about childhood competencies in this area. Participants (aged between four and five years, eight and ten years, and a group of young adults) attempted to select the more likely of two events, a single event, and a conjunctive event containing, as one of its components, the single event. The problems were such that the objective probabilities of the component events were potentially available. Children in both age groups were generally successful when the single event was likely. However, when it was unlikely, a majority of children rejected it, choosing the conjunctive event instead, thereby committing the conjunction fallacy. A substantial minority of adults also committed the fallacy under equivalent conditions. It is concluded that under certain conditions children are capable of normative conjunctive judgments but that the mechanisms underpinning this capacity remain to be fully understood.     

Illustrating a mixed-method approach for validating culturally specific constructs

The purpose of this article is to illustrate a mixed-method approach (i.e., combining qualitative and quantitative methods) for advancing the study of construct validation in cross-cultural research. The article offers a detailed illustration of the approach using the responses 612 Sri Lankan adolescents provided to an ethnographic survey. Such surveys offer a connection between the primary methodologies used (i.e., ethnographic and factor analytic approaches) as they are predicated on qualitative inquiry and allow for the application of factor analysis. If the qualitatively derived constructs are comparable to factor analytic results, then triangulation across methods is achieved and a survey can be developed that is sensitive to culturally specific phenomena. The illustration of this approach uses data from an ethnographic survey of self-concept, as defined by Harter (1999) [Harter, S. (1999). The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. New York: The Guilford Press]. The construction of the self: A developmental perspective. New York: The Guilford Press]. The overall finding is that three constructs emerged from the factor analysis and were reconciled with the ethnographic data.     

THOUGHT EXPERIMENTS

Abstract: This article seeks to explain how thought experiments work, and also the reasons why they can fail. It is divided into four sections. The first argues that thought experiments in philosophy and science should be treated together. The second examines existing accounts of thought experiments and shows why they are inadequate. The third proposes a better account of thought experiments. According to this account, a thought experimenter manipulates her worldview in accord with the “what if” questions posed by a thought experiment. When all necessary manipulations are carried through, the result is either a consistent model or a contradiction. If a consistent model is achieved, the thought experimenter can conclude that the scenario is possible; if a consistent model cannot be constructed, then the scenario is not possible. The fourth section of the article uses this account to shed light on the circumstances in which thought experiments fail.     

Optimal behavior and concurrent variable ratio-variable interval schedules

Concurrent variable ratio-variable interval (CONC VRVI) schedules of reinforcement, and the time-based analog of the same schedule (CONC VT*VT), have been used to determine if the matching law accounts for the distribution of choices between the behavior alternatives more accurately than the assumption that subjects distribute time between the alternatives to maximize total reinforcement rate. The results of those experiments leave room for interpretation. One problem is the lack of understanding of the theoretical outcomes associated with maximization in these schedules. A precise understanding of the characteristics of optimal behavior (OB) could help identify experimental evidence of OB. Here we derive equations that describe the optimal times the subject should spend on each alternative of the schedule. We provide a table of the optimal times for a wide range of parameter values of the schedule that experimenters can use to compare easily experimental results to the results expected if subjects behave optimally. We also derive a function m that relates matching and optimal performance and we prove interesting characteristics of the function. Finally, we describe features of OB with CONC VT*VT and with concurrent variable time schedules that can be used to identify evidence of OB.     

Copy and recall performance of 6-8-year-old children after standard vs. Step-by-step administration of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure.

The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF; Rey 1941; Osterrieth, 1944) is frequently used in the neuropsychological assessment of children and adults. The present study was designed, in part, to examine the impact of providing organizational scaffolding to young children being tested with the ROCF. To this end, 6-, 7-, and 8-year-old children were administered the test either in the standard fashion, or using a format in which the 18 key elements of the figure were introduced sequentially. Participants included 132 children who were randomly assigned to the standard or step-by-step administration groups. Significantly higher accuracy and organization scores for both copy and recall were seen with the step-by-step format than with the standard format, even though children in the step-by-step condition took less time to execute their drawings. Retention of encoded information was not affected by age or testing format. The fact that 6-year-olds in the step-by-step condition performed as well as, or better than, 8-year-olds in the standard condition suggests that the primary problem young children experience with the ROCF lies with organizational strategy formation. Advantages of using the Step-by-step ROCF in clinical practice are discussed.     

Humor in Counseling: Leader Perspectives

This article explores the existence of humor in counseling from the perspectives of several leaders in the field. Specifically, the last 5 authors describe some of their thoughts and experiences regarding the emergence of humor in counseling.     

Early Menarche: A Review of Research on Trends in Timing, Racial Differences, Etiology and Psychosocial Consequences

This paper elucidates varying definitions of “early menarche” and reviews evidence in four well-documented areas: (a) A potential trend toward earlier maturation, (b) racial differences in menarcheal timing, (c) etiology of early puberty, and (d) consequences of early puberty. While teachers and physicians perceive menarche as occurring earlier than in the past, mean menarcheal age has remained relatively constant over the past 50 years. Conflicting results concerning racial differences in timing highlight the need for further research to unravel the effects of race and social economic status (SES). Evidence regarding the relative etiological contributions of nutrition, environmental stress, and genetics is evaluated. Maturing earlier than one’s peers has negative consequences for girls, especially when combined with simultaneous stressors. However, the negative psychosocial consequences of early puberty may not last into later adolescence or adulthood. Few studies have investigated early-maturing adolescents’ subjective experience with menarche, particularly those from non-white and non-middle-class backgrounds.This article is based on a paper presented at the 2003 Society for Menstrual Cycle Research Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.